by Sharon | Apr 5, 2016
With warmer weather, hot chocolate may not be on your agenda right now . . .
But . . . a cool spring or summer night . . . 
Or having friends over . . . this may just hit the spot!
French Hot Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped — get the best quality Guittard, Ghirardelli, Godiva — Don’t use chocolate chips, they won’t melt as well.
- plenty of whipped cream for a generous serving on top
Directions:
- In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the whole milk, heavy cream, powdered sugar and espresso powder over medium heat.
- Heat until small bubbles appear around the edges. Don’t allow to boil.
- Remove the saucepan from the stove and stir in the chocolate you chopped up earlier, until melted. You may need to return the sauce pan to a low heat setting on your stove.
- You’re going to want to serve this warm, topped with a generous amount of whipped cream.
This is definitely a rich intense hot chocolate you’d find in a fine French establishment.
You may find your family enjoys it so much, you’ll be making this throughout the year.
Have fun!
Sharon
by Sharon | Mar 22, 2016
It’s Always Time To Make S’Mores
This is an easy recipe using brownie mix, Oreo cookies, marshmallows and graham crackers. Does that sound yummy?
Any combination of ingredients for s’mores seems to always be a winner.
Do you see the layers: graham cracker base, brownie, Oreo Cookies, marshmallows . . . there’s more brownie in there, but it got gooey with marshmallows. The on top it a lightly toasted marshmallow . . .
If you like what you see and want to make these for your family, read on!
Let’s get started with the Ingredients:
- Your favorite brand of brownie mix
- Mini Oreo Cookies
- Marshmallows — size of your choice
- Graham Crackers
Let’s Assemble these S’Mores:
- Preheat oven to 325° F
- Prepare the brownie mix according to the box instructions.
- Line a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with parchment paper.
- Lay graham crackers all along the bottom of the dish.
- Spread a layer of the brownie mix over the graham crackers. Be sure to cover as much of the graham cracker as possible.
- Place a layer of Oreo cookies on top of the brownie mix.
- Layer the marshmallows over the top of the Oreo Cookies.
- Use the remaining brownie batter to cover the marshmallows and along the sides of the Oreo Cookies. Spread this as evenly as possible.
- Bake for 45 minutes or so depending upon your oven. Check after 30 to 35 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place a layer of marshmallows on top.
- Place under the broiler until the marshmallows begin to turn a golden brown.
- Allow them to cool before cutting into them. This may take an hour or more.
There you have it . . . a S’More Brownie with Oreo Cookies and Graham Crackers — And Marshmallows!!
Feel free to alter the recipe however you wish. Add ingredients or take out ingredients. This is a treat I want your family and friends to absolutely love.
Until next time,
Sharon
by Sharon | Mar 16, 2016
It’s always fun to have variations of chicks you can make with your hard boiled Easter eggs.
I do love making something common extraordinary for holidays.
It is fun to experiment and see what you can do.
This chick has a cut carrot for the comb on top and also a piece of carrot for the beak. You could make feet for it using a slice of carrot. For eggs you could use a speck of black pepper or a piece of cut black olive. I’m sure you can think of other things that would work equally well.
As you can see from the picture, you just cut into your hard boiled egg to make room for the comb and beak. You may want to slice off a piece of the bottom so it will stand up . . . or put it in a bed of spinach.
It’s all about having fun and seeing what you can create for your family this Easter.
I do hope this was inspirational for you . . . giving you an idea of what you can do special for your family and friends.
Sharon
by Sharon | Mar 16, 2016
Berries And Angel Food Cake
I like to make this will strawberries, vanilla pudding poured over layers of angel food cake.
It’s no bake . . . when you buy an angel food cake from the bakery section of your local market.
Of course you can use pound cake and the berries of your choice or a combination of berries. I suppose you could also make this with pan cakes . . . or waffles . . . make it with or without the vanilla pudding . . . just the berries with the “cake” of your choice.
So, this isn’t really a recipe . . . a procedure of layering your cake with the berries and if you use pudding, you layer that right along putting the berries on top.
Just follow the picture and you’ll have a delicious dessert for your family . . . and if you decide to use pan cakes or waffles, this would be a flavorful breakfast or brunch . . . with or without the vanilla pudding . . . I know I’m pushing the pudding . . . it’s supposed to be all about the berries.
It’s interesting how a picture can give you several ideas of how to make a special treat for your family. Since it’s about the berries or the fruit . . . banana pudding would be delicious . . . and why not chocolate pudding?
I don’t know, I didn’t really think of it . . . perhaps this could work, too. You just need to gather up your ingredients and go for it. Maybe try some test runs with your combinations . . . maybe cut the angel food cake in small pieces and make different puddings and wash and cut up different berries and fruit and make a whole platter of berry delicious treats.
This would be a wonderful way of giving everyone a little bit of everything before making a commitment of a whole cake using one combination of ingredients. You may find your taste test platter becomes your new Berry Easter Cake tradition.
Have fun and be creative.
Sharon
by Sharon | Mar 15, 2016
I Always Find It Amazing How A Simple Recipe Can Be Made Into Something Special
Deviled eggs are always a family favorite . . . but make them into little chicks and you have a winner for this Easter!!
Oh yes, these are easy enough to make . . . and you can use your own recipe for deviled eggs or the one I have for you here. I do wonder how different this recipe is from your own family recipe. That would be an interesting project.
Well, let’s get on with the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 6 hard boiled eggs
- 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Sweet Pickle Relish
- 2 teaspoons Mustard
- Salt and Pepper for taste
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Sweet Pickle
Directions:
- Boil and Peel the eggs.
- Slice a small piece off the bottom of the egg to flatten it so it will stand.
- Cut a zig zag pattern around the middle of the egg so it resembles an egg that has cracked open.
- Remove the yokes and put in a bowl.
- Cut the carrot into 6 small triangles to use for the beak.
- Cut off strips of the pickle and make into squares for the eyes.
- Mash the yolks with a fork and stir in the mayonnaise, pickle relish and mustard.
- Add the salt and pepper for taste.
- Mix until the consistency is smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the mixture into a zip lock bag, snip off a corner — this is your piping bag.
- Squeeze in the mixture into the cooked egg whites. Fill it up to overflowing.
- Place the beaks and eyes in place.
- Top them off with the top half of the egg white.
- There you have a cute little chick trying to pop out.
This is a fun recipe. Be sure to add or delete ingredients. Replace with your own recipe. This is just the starting point for making these adorable chicks. Make this recipe your own.
Have fun!
Sharon
by Sharon | Mar 3, 2016
There Are A Lot Of Holiday Snacks Using Popcorn
If you don’t have a popcorn popping machine, don’t you think it’s about time you got one?
I don’t want to be pushy, but the microwave popcorn bags ones don’t work as well with this recipe. You can always pop corn kernels on the stove, but a popcorn machine is so much easier.
As quickly as your family and friends will eat this up, you’ll want to make it as healthy as possible knowing exactly what ingredients you’re putting into this fun and delicious snack.
So, let’s get you set up with the ingredients and the popcorn machine and we’ll move ahead with the recipe.
Take a look at this Presto 04820 PopLite Hot Air Popper. 
- Pops faster than a microwave. Do you believe it? It pops up to 18 cups of gourmet corn in less than 2 and a half minutes.
- You save 70% by using regular or gourmet popcorn instead of microwave bag popcorn.
- You’ll be saving 42% of the calories by popping without oil.
- There are no artificial flavors, saturated fats, preservatives or added salt when you pop your own popcorn instead of buying the microwave bags.
I don’t know about you, but I like to know what I’m eating. I gave up the microwave popcorn several years ago and bought one of these. It’s going strong!
You’re also going to need popcorn kernels. Here are a couple of links that will get you started. And while I’m looking around, I’ll give you a selection of candies you can add to your homemade chemical free popcorn snack.
I did get a bit carried away. You have your popcorn, candy melts, square pretzels, chocolates and I thought I’d throw in the jelly beans . . . can Easter be Easter without jelly beans!!!
All right, enough fooling around. Let’s get this recipe going. You may have already figured it out from the picture and have already made your first batch of it.
Easter Snack Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1/2 a cup of popcorn kernels
- 12 ounces of plain vanilla candy melts
- 1 and 1/3 cups of pretzel squares you’ll want to break into pieces
- 12 ounces of M & M chocolate pastel candies of your choice
- Multi-colored sprinkles, about 2 ounces
You can add your own ingredients. You can have mini marshmallows, jelly beans, even a candy of your choice . . . it’s your Easter snack!
How about melted marshmallows instead of the candy melts? Just an idea you may want to consider.
Let’s put this together:
- Pop popcorn in a popcorn popper and put in a large bowl.
- Get rid of any of the unpopped popcorn kernels.
- Add the broken pretzel pieces and the candy. Don’t add the Sprinkles yet.
- Melt the candy melts in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds. Stir and put in the microwave for another 30 seconds, stir until the candy melts have melted and is smooth.
- Drizzle about half of the melted candy melts over the popcorn mixture.
- Toss gently with a rubber spatula.
- Then drizzle the remaining half of the melted candy melts over the popcorn. Toss again for even distribution.
- If you’re using sprinkles — Empty your bowl into a single layer onto wax paper. Sprinkle the mixture evenly with sprinkles before the candy melts set.
- Let it cool and harden before breaking it into pieces and serve or store in an airtight container.
There you have it. A fun Easter snack with variations to make it your own.
Have fun and enjoy!
Sharon
